Since the beginning of April, the Buffalo Bills have hosted 29 potential selections in this year’s NFL draft on official visits with the team. It appears as though the team is not using its 30th allotted visit, as Sunday was the NFL’s deadline for pre-draft visitors.

As the team had a finite limit of how many players it could bring to One Bills Drive, the visits list gives a telling indication of what the Bills could be looking for in this year’s draft.

It gives us a better indication of which positions the Bills are looking to draft than it does which players they will actually select. While Buffalo only drafted two of its pre-draft visitors last year—Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel and Clemson safety Jonathan Meeks—its six picks in the first five rounds all came from positions at which the team hosted at least five prospects (quarterbacks, wide receiver, linebacker, safety).

With that in mind, we can get a good idea of what positions Buffalo is looking to upgrade in this year’s draft, what type of players they are looking for at those positions, and more.

Thursday, April 24th, 2014

As the Buffalo Bills prepare for the 2014 NFL Draft, they are allowed to bring up to 30 players to One Bills Drive for on-site pre-draft visits. Though it’s dangerous to read too much into those visits for projections, they can be a good indicator into not only what prospects the Bills want to get to know better, but also what schools, positions or types of players the team might be keeping a close eye on.

The Bills hosted one player, Alabama offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio, for a pre-draft visit Friday. Kouandjio, who could be among the team’s strongest second-round options if he is available at the No. 41 overall pick, is the 29th player to visit the Bills, leaving them with just one official visit. During the team’s pre-draft luncheon Friday, general manager Doug Whaley said the team “probably won’t have anybody else” in for a visit, as the league’s deadline to host official visits is Sunday.

Tuesday, April 15th, 2014

At least one offensive tackle has been selected among the first 10 selections in every draft but one (2005) since 2000. Premier talents like Jake Matthews and Greg Robinson, who I compared in-depth earlier this draft season, make it a near certainty that the trend will continue this year.

It would not be surprising to see Taylor Lewan join that mix and make this year’s draft the second consecutive with three top-10 offensive tackle selections.

An average of 19 offensive tackles have been selected in the last five drafts. I have draftable grades on 23 tackles this year which is a testament to the depth of this class. Intriguing offensive tackle talents can be found in every round of this year’s draft.